WordPress widgets provide interesting functionalities to you WordPress blog and make them more interesting to visit and use. These widgets usually appear on the sidebars as default but can also be customized to feature in the header, footer or any other space in the blog. The default widgets that accompany many widgetized themes are the navigation bar, tag clouds etc.
Widgets also do not require coding expertise to make them appear on your blog. All you have to do is go to the appearance option in the admin panel and choose widgets. Here you will be able to edit, modify, restructure and delete the widgets. You will be required to fill out some forms, can add or remove images and customize the widget options here.
The structuring and arrangement of the widgets is set by the theme at functions.php file. You can find help on how to use the widgets at the widgets side panel menu, and can find the built in plugin and other plugin as the WordPress plugin directory.
Activating the widgets is simple once you enter the widget customization panel. But remember this panel is only available on websites that are widgetized. On the left of the panel you can see the available widgets and installed widgets on your theme. On the right are the sidebars on which the widgets will appear on the original site. There may be one or two or even more depending on the theme, you can customize this at the functions.php file, if you have some coding knowledge. Next to activate the widgets, just drag the widgets on to the sidebar and drop them. Enter the required information for customization and automatically your theme will be updated. Go to the website and preview the addition you have just made, you could see the default sidebar replaced by the widget.
